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Drakengard 2
Drakengard 2, or Drag-On Dragoon 2: Sealed Red, Immoral Black in Japan, is an action RPG for the PlayStation 2 system and is a direct sequel to the original Drakengard. Like the original, Drakengard 2 combines on-foot hack and slash with aerial combat stages. It was developed by Cavia, Inc., published in Japan by Square Enix on June 16, 2005 and released in North America by Ubisoft on February 14, 2006. The Japanese title likely refers to the two dragons featured in the story.__TOC__ Gameplay Drakengard 2 features a number of refinements and enhancements designed to make the game better than its predecessor. For instance, in the original game, the player could only regain health by causing health orbs to generate after chaining enough attacks together, and each stage featured a strict time limit in which the objectives needed to be met. The sequel eases things by allowing the player to purchase and equip health and magic restoration items before beginning each stage, and the time limits have been done away with almost entirely. Furthermore, should the player's character die, Drakengard 2 will retain all experience gained over the course of play should the player elect to try the stage again. The original Drakengard featured exactly sixty-five unique weapons to collect over the course of the game, and finding every last one of them was a requirement to see all five of the game's different endings. However, the process of collecting the weapons was seen by many as tedious and somewhat frustrating, and so Drakengard 2 simplifies the process by making many of the weapons in the game available for purchase in village shops. Purchasing a weapon only requires that the player has stockpiled enough gold to buy it. One change that Drakengard 2 makes that is not universally accepted is the alteration to the stage selection feature. The original game featured the ability to revisit any stage at any time, but the storyline of Drakengard 2 is presented in a linear fashion that prevents the player from revisiting story-specific missions. This is mitigated somewhat by the existence of free expedition, or basic missions that utilize many of the same maps as the story missions, but the player must either replay through the game from scratch or keep a save file prior to a specific story mission in order to play it again. Plot 'Characters' Playable Non-Playable 'Story' In news about the game at the time of its release, Drakengard 2 was originally placed in the timeline following the events of "Ending A" of Drakengard. In 2013 within the Drag-On Dragoon 3 Complete Guide + Settings, the game was retconned into an isolated timeline: while events preceding the game mirror Ending A of Drakengard, it no longer follows the true Ending A. The game begins with Nowe, the protagonist, joining the Knights of the Seal, whose purpose is to protect the keys holding the red dragon’s seal in place, which prevents the end of the world. Nowe begins to wonder about the ethics of the Knights when he discovers that the keys are powered by the life force of some of the land’s citizens. His faith is further shaken when General Gismor tries to poison him, then reveals that he poisoned his predecessor, General Oror, Nowe’s adoptive father. Nowe’s anger prompts him to attack Gismor, severing his arm, before fleeing from him and the other Knights. Eris, a friend of Nowe’s within the Knights, sets off to convince Nowe to return. While on the run, he is accompanied by a dragon named Legna. They soon meet Manah, a sorceress on a quest to free the people from the rule of the Knights. Nowe decides to join her. During their travels, they meet Urick, an ex-Knight who trained under General Oror. After some time, they arrive at the District of Shining Life, which Caim, protagonist of the first game, is already assaulting. Nowe then discovers that Urick is the guardian of the district. Because he has become close friends with Urick, Nowe attempts to save Urick’s life by challenging Caim himself. Urick, however, is still mortally wounded during the battle; Urick manages to push Caim into a chasm before he dies. With Urick’s death, the key in the district is destroyed. Nowe repeats this for the other keys, killing their guardians to destroy their keys. The last key, Nowe discovers, is guarded by General Gismor, who Nowe discovers is actually a phantom of darkness. Eris is stabbed and thought to be killed at this time, as Gismor uses her as a human shield. Nowe defeats Gismor, but before he can strike him down, Gismor destroys his key so Nowe can’t have to pleasure of killing him. With the destruction of the keys, Angelus, the red dragon of the seal, is released. She begins a rampage across the land, having been driven mad by the tortures of being the seal. Nowe receives a note from Caim saying to slay Angelus because he just wanted to see her one more time. Nowe and Legna then battle with Angelus and slay her. With her death, the world reverts to the state it was in during the first game. Legna carries Nowe to a repository of knowledge created by the holy dragons, where he learns of a prophecy that he will end the war between the dragons and the gods. At this time, Eris catches up to Nowe and joins him. Legna then carries Nowe to an artifact called the Bone Casket. Legna says that Nowe must enter the casket to fulfill the prophecy. The player is then given the option of having Nowe enter the casket or refuse to do so. If Nowe refuses, Legna attacks him, forcing Nowe to slay Legna. Eris reveals herself to be a goddess, and becomes the seal to restore order to the world. If Nowe agrees to climb into the casket, the casket attacks Nowe, forcing him to battle it. During the battle, the casket merges with Manah, forcing Nowe to kill both the casket and Manah. At this point, Nowe, Legna and Eris resolve to join the dragons in their war with the gods. An alternate ending exists in which the casket does not merge with Manah, because she is able to subdue it. Legna then reveals that he only cared for Nowe so he could use him as a weapon, prompting the battle between Nowe and Legna. With Legna’s death, both the gods and the dragons fade away, negating the need for a seal. 'Endings' Branch A The party arrive at the Holy Lands and Legna refuses to let Nowe help them establish the seals once more. He takes them to the Bone Casket, saying that Nowe is to be the weapon of dragonkind, the New Breed. He states it has always been Nowe's destiny to fight the gods. Nowe refuses and Legna attacks, subduing him before departing to wage war against the gods on his own. In his despair, Nowe tells Manah that he wishes he could save her. Manah confesses and confirms their underlying love with a kiss. Invigorated by this, Nowe transforms into his Newbreed state and flies after Legna with a newfound confidence and power. The two battle, and as Nowe defeats Legna, the dragon releases his earlier anger and praises Nowe for "surpassing his father" before plummeting to his death. Nowe returns to the Eris and Manah, finding out that Eris is to be the new goddess and that the dragons disappeared. Nowe is devastated that he couldn't save Eris. Nowe stays with Manah, understanding that the world is once again controlled by the gods, and Eris won't be at peace. Nowe and Manah eventually part ways however, unable to stay together because of the guilt they feel over almost destroying the world. Nowe later becomes the new leader of the Knights of the Seal. He regularly writes letters to Eris and visits the Castle of the Goddess yearly on the day the Red Dragon died. Branch B Nowe attempts to enter the bone casket, deciding that becoming a weapon and embracing dragonkind's vision for a new world without gods would be the best choice. He is rejected however, and battles with it. The casket takes over Manah, and now Nowe must kill Manah. He does so, with great regret. Afterwards, Nowe and Eris join with the holy dragons, beginning their battle with the gods. Branch C Nowe battles the bone casket, saving Manah. He then transforms into the New Breed and kills Legna. Afterwards, both the gods and the holy dragons are gone, leaving the world free from their reign. Nowe now stands with Eris, Manah, and Seere, taking the fate of humanity into their hands. Later, a dragon can be seen in the sky above. Theme song *Hitori; replaced with Growing Wings in English Packaging Artwork DRAG-ON DRAGOON 2 box art.png|''DRAG-ON DRAGOON 2'' Square Enix Japan: 6/16/2005 Drakengard - EU box art.png|''Drakengard 2'' Ubisoft Europe: 3/02/2006 Drakengard - US box art.png|''Drakengard 2'' Ubisoft North America: 2/14/2006 Gallery Drakengard 2 = Trivia *Apparently the gods and the dragons are in a war to determine who will rule the world. The dragons seem to be ruled by angelic entities known as the holy dragons or the arch dragons. The gods seem to be the opposite of the holy dragons as they seem to resort to demonic practices such as possessing Manah, and seem to identify themselves as "I" and "us" interchangeably while speaking through Manah. *In the first game Angelus evolves into stronger forms, due to her pact with Caim, but in Drakengard 2, she is seen in her 3rd stage form since her chaos dragon form could only be acquired on the third ending path of Drakengard. (The Chaos form being an alternate 3rd form, from the 2nd stage dragon) *Keeping with the first game, the map is once again a map of Europe, specifically Eastern Europe. Unlike the first game, however, the map has not been flipped. *The Castle of the Goddess stage is a recreation of one of the stages from the original Drakengard. It was the home of Caim's sister, the former goddess Furiae. The first time the stage is visited during the Drakengard 2 storyline, the player begins just outside the entrance to the goddess's chamber on the top floor. Category:Games